1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetohydrodynamic electric generator, particularly one designed for the direct energy conversion of the kinetic energy of flowing saline water.
2. Description of Prior Art
With the ever-increasing need of industrialized nations for power, and with the increasing problems posed by conventional sources of power, the development of new power sources is of critical importance. One such power source is that offered by flowing saline water--ocean currents, tides, waves, etc. It has been estimated that the total wave power alone available in the world's oceans may be as high as 90.times.10.sup.15 watts--indeed an immense amount of power--and that the renewal rate of this power source alone is on the order of 10.sup.12 to 10.sup.13 watts. Saline water power is clean, safe and permanent. Certainly then, the kinetic energy of saline water potentially could be quite important as a power source. Yet, while there is an increasing interest in this potential source of power, few practical systems presently exist to extract any significant amount of power from the world's restless oceans.
The present invention is designed to directly extract the kinetic energy of flowing ocean water by means of a magnetohydrodynamic (hereinafter "MHD") electric generator. While the existance of the MHD effect has been known for many years, previously it has not been used in an electric generator design that directly employs the flow of ocean water as the conducting fluid necessary to the effect.
Further, while various ocean powered generators have been proposed, typically they are rigidly attached to the sea bottom and extract power from the passing waves. Such rigid attachments can be quite difficult to achieve and maintain. A generator that did not require such a support would therefore be quite desireable.
An objective, then, of this present invention is to provide a practical magnetohydrodynamic electic generator, one which can be tethered to an ocean bottom and generate electric power from the motion of ocean water substantially unattended. The generator should be simple, sea-worthy, and rugged in construction, yet offer significant amounts of electric power. These and other objectives of the invention will appear from the following description of preferred embodiments.